Self-expression

I was at a gig in reading this weekend - not a big one but a little one - Gravenhurst - supported and arranged by a number of smaller reading based bands. One of the bands that was playing organised the gig. It was funny watching twenty something geeky guys express themselves on guitars and drums (and often no vocals) - none of them had a very engaging stage 'presence' but if you closed your eyes the music took you places. It was pretty well organised and you could buy self-produced t-shirts, CDs. As I watched I remembered a time when i used to do performance poetry - i would drag my work colleagues at University down to the open mic slots at the Frog and Bucket and me and a technician would get up and spout terrible poetry. Quite often my slot would evolve into banter with the audience, as i forgot my lines and made excuses for making them up. It was fun while it lasted. Reflecting back i remember having terrible nerves before going up on stage and wondering why the hell was i putting myself through this state of anxiety.

I am writing this from Edinburgh (about to attend a meeting up here) - i am at my sister's house staying with her two kids - part of the joy has been making up crazy stories with my niece and nephew - i give them some options at bed time for storytelling - made up story or book story or something else? My little niece opts for 'something else' and tells me that she is going to read to me and her little brother and that we are 'not to help her unless she is really stuck'.

At the end of reading the 'pig pants' story my niece tells me she wants to do it again but this time she will start from the back of the book, 'is that okay?'. So we have the story again, starting at the end and ending up at the beginning.

What i am realy enjoying is learning about how my little niece is learning about her learning - and engaging her audience in the process to get feedback.

Expression and engagement is a great way to learn and get feedback - i am thinking about where i can exercise this. In the past i haven't liked collaborative or group learning because the pace can feel really slow but actually - the wider benefit of everyone learning together is quite enjoyable and structured well can bind a group of people who don't know one another. With my friends, my nephew/ niece and strangers that shared experience has bound us - perhaps more tightly with family and friends. The possibilities are intriguing.